Abandonment Issues
by Takara Phoenix
Summary: Krolia is visiting the castle for the first time. Everyone welcomes her warmly. Only Lance corners her and gives her a stern warning that she still had to prove she won't abandon Keith again. Krolia is instantly impressed by the boy's protectiveness over her son, thinking he is the perfect mate for Keith. Keith/Lance slash Klance


Voltron || Klance || Voltron || Klance || Abandonment Issues || Klance || Voltron || Klance || Voltron

Title: Abandonment Issues – Mother Knows Best

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Disclaimer: All rights to the remake reserved to DreamWorks, Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, and to the original to Toei Animation. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: m/m, fluff, hurt/comfort, protectiveness, courting

Main Pairing: Keith/Lance

Voltron Characters: Lance Charles McClain, Keith Kogane, Katie 'Pidge' Holt, Hunk Garett, Prince Lotor, Princess Allura, Coran, Krolia, Kolivan

Summary: Krolia is visiting the castle for the first time. Everyone welcomes her warmly. Only Lance corners her and gives her a stern warning that she still had to prove she won't abandon Keith again. Krolia is instantly impressed by the boy's protectiveness over her son, thinking he is the perfect mate for Keith.

 **Abandonment Issues**

 _Mother Knows Best_

Krolia was eager to meet her son's pack. The family that had taken care of him while she had not been around. Of course did she have to tag along the next time Kolivan and Keith went to personally meet with the paladins of Voltron. They welcomed her warmly.

The tiny green one and the large yellow one were overly excited and kept asking her a lot of questions. They seemed nice and like they cared a lot about her son. She instantly took a liking to them, because they seemed like the kind of siblings Keith deserved. She watched how he blushed and glared as the green one and the yellow one kept asking her a million questions.

"Hunk, Pidge, that's enough. Give them some space", grunted the black one sternly.

She wasn't sure about him. Something about him seemed... off. Something about his relationship to the others did too. Like there was an unspoken distance between them, which should not be between a leader and his pack. It was curious and Krolia was sure to observe it further.

"But Shiro, come on, don't you have a million questions about tiny-winy baby Keith?", asked Pidge.

She grinned impishly and pushed her glasses up as she watched Keith blush. Krolia laughed. Yes, she definitely liked that one. The precious little green one was now under her protection. Pidge. It was hard to memorize names, so many all at once, crowding in on her.

There were more than the yellow, green and black ones though. There was the pink one, the princess. She kept shifting, clearly being uncomfortable. Krolia knew why. Because she was Galra and the princess' entire race had been killed by Galra. It seemed the princess was _trying_ and, Krolia supposed, that was good enough for now. Perhaps if she proved herself as trustworthy, the princess would see that Krolia meant no harm, just like Keith and Lotor. Who had somehow _not_ been who she had expected to meet with the paladins of Voltron. Lotor also seemed oddly cozy with the princess. Krolia was suspicious. Was it genuine affection, or did he worm his way in to gain control...? The princess seemed to trust him well enough.

There were two more. A bubbly fella who was not a paladin. Altean, like the princess. He seemed to be the den-keeper of the group. Interesting dynamic. Among Galra, it was usually the mate of the leader who was the den-keeper. But the den had first belonged to the two Alteans and the leader didn't seem to have a mate. Perhaps Krolia should consider that they didn't work like Galra...?

There was one more though. The blue one who was the red one actually? The paladins had explained it earlier, but green and yellow kept interrupting each other when telling the story so Krolia had a bit of a headache now. He was blue. And he was definitely suspicious. He had not asked a lot of questions. None, actually. He just kept watching her, very intensely so.

"If you would excuse me, I think I need some rest", declared Krolia with a smile.

She left, deliberately slow, allowing the blue one to follower her down the hall. She paused as she reached her designated chambers for the night. Opening the door, she entered and then she waited for the blue one who had followed her right away. He stood outside, glaring at her.

"What can I do for you, Blue Paladin?", asked Krolia, motioning for him to enter.

"Red Paladin, actually. _Lance_ , if you wanna be correct", grunted the blue one – Lance.

"Well, what is it?", inquired Krolia. "You seem to... not like me much."

"That's... I don't not like you. I just _don't know you_ ", replied Lance and crossed his arms over his chest, a glare on his face. "Everyone is super cheerful that Keith's long-lost mother returned."

"And... you are not?", asked Krolia confused. "Do you not like my son."

"No! It's... urgh", grumbled Lance, clearly frustrated by his struggle with finding the right words. "I _like_ Keith. I care about Keith a lot. And _that's_ why I'm suspicious of you."

Lance paused and straightened up. He was tall, for a human. Not as tall as the Black Paladin and only barely half an inch taller than Keith. But when he wanted to be impressive, he succeeded.

"You _left him_. You _abandoned_ him", stated Lance – and his words cut effectively deep. "You're back now, with pretty words, but... Words mean _nothing_. Absolutely nothing. It's the deeds that count. And so far, the only things you have actively done was _leave him_ and then, accidentally, come back into his life. It's not even that you came seeking him out when he became a paladin of Voltron. No, you just happened to be a mission of Keith's. So, so far, your deeds are one against you and nothing that counts for you. You can _say_ that you will not abandon him again all you want and you can _say_ that you will be there for him all you want, but... it means nothing until you can prove it."

Krolia conceded that point. She indeed had no way of proving that she was not going to abandon Keith again, especially not right now, after having barely gotten to know Keith.

"You're right... Lance", agreed Krolia, eyes firm. "I can offer you no more than words. Words that hold no value to you, because you have no reason to trust me. So, let me prove to you that you can trust me. That _Keith_ can trust me. That is all I came here to ask for. A second chance."

Lance still looked weary, but he nodded. "Okay. Fine. Prove it, to me and to him."

Krolia nodded and watched Lance leave. This one interested her. She smiled pleased. While the others had taken her in on Keith's account, it was this one who was weary of her _on Keith's account_. He seemed to care deeply for Keith, not wanting him to be left again. She liked that. She liked that there was someone who cared about Keith and who could be fierce on Keith's behalf. This one too was under Krolia's protection now. And she would make sure to prove her intentions to the boy.

/break\

"What did you talk to my mother about?", asked Keith with a glare, arms crossed.

He had cornered Lance while Pidge and Hunk were busy talking to Krolia _again_ (those two were going to kill Keith. They had moved on from questioning to sharing embarrassing stories about Keith now). Allura was off with Lotor, doing _stuff_ (new, weird development that Keith was definitely not comfortable with just yet. They trusted the prince now. Okay. But the princess seemed awfully close to him...). And _something_ was up with Shiro. It made Keith uncomfortable and he wasn't sure how to approach it, so he decided to deal with strange developments one at a time. Starting with Lance, who had followed Krolia last night when she went to bed.

"What?", asked Lance surprised, looking at Keith.

"You kept glaring at her yesterday, then you followed her when she went to bed. And today, she keeps watching you", growled Keith after pulling Lance aside. "I swear, if you came onto my _mother_ , of all people-"

"What? Ew. No. What?", interrupted Lance wide-eyed. "What?"

"It's what you _do_ ", growled Keith. "You always flirt with everyone we meet."

"I didn't! It wasn't about that! It was about _you_ ", countered Lance irritated, glaring at Keith.

"...What?", asked Keith confused, backing off some.

"She _abandoned you_ and you turned out to be _this_! This emotionally constipated loner, who didn't feel worthy enough of a place in our team so you kept dodging and left to join the Blade, _abandoning_ Voltron", called Lance out, throwing his arms up. "And now she comes back here, claiming she won't abandon you again. How do you know? It's not like you know the woman, she left when you were a baby. She can lie all she wants. And then, this time when she leaves you, it'll hurt _so much more_ because you grew attached and trusted her!"

Keith glared viciously and pinned Lance onto the wall. "How _dare_ you. What do _you_ know?! This is none of your business, stop getting involved in things you know nothing about."

"I know _plenty_ about this", hissed Lance back, eyes shimmering. "It's what my father _always_ said. Every single time he came back, he promised he'd never leave us again. But when he realizes it's too much _work_ to take care of the family, he _leaves again_. And your parents _both_ leaving you already left you messed up enough as it is! You don't deserve to be abandoned again!"

Keith took a step back, eyes wide. "I..."

Lance still glared, but he averted his gaze. "I just... care, okay, Keith? You don't deserve that."

With that, Lance left, leaving behind a stunned and speechless Keith. He hadn't known that about Lance's family. If he was being honest, he... didn't know anything about Lance's family. Frowning, Keith decided to follow Lance to his room, finding Lance curled together in a corner of the bed.

"Lance...", started Keith, unsure where he was going with this. "I didn't know."

"Well, you didn't ask", shrugged Lance, not looking at Keith.

"Well, now I'm asking", grunted Keith and sat down next to Lance.

Lance heaved a sigh and leaned his head back against the wall, legs drawn up to his chest. "We're... a pretty big family. Me and my twin-sister, we're the youngest. And when... we were born, our father left. Two babies at once? No. Too much work on top of our older siblings. Mom was heartbroken. You know, she took her maiden name again after the divorce. McClain."

"I... have been wondering about that", admitted Keith. "Not the most _typical_ Cuban last name."

"Well, mom's not from Cuba. She just moved to Varadero because of my father", shrugged Lance. "He keeps coming back. Thinking he can be a dad. The first few times, he got my hopes up. And then, just, one morning, he's gone again. Sometimes leaves a letter saying he's sorry and that he has important business to attend to or _whatever_."

"I'm... I'm sorry, Lance", whispered Keith gently, resting a hand on Lance's shoulder.

"I'm not... I'm not saying your mom's like my dad. But I'm saying that you don't _know_ her and that... I just wanna watch out for you", muttered Lance, staring at his knees.

Keith blinked slowly before offering a small smile. "...Thanks. I guess... I'm not used to someone looking out for me like that. I... I guess I'm a little blinded and hopeful. And... maybe I don't have much reason to trust her just yet. So... thanks, for looking out for me."

Curiously, Lance turned to look at Keith. "Uh... You're... welcome."

/break\

Keith frowned as he looked over to his mother. She was sitting with Lotor and Kolivan. Apparently, the two members of the Blade felt as skeptical about Lotor's change of heart as he did.

"Mother, can we... speak?", asked Keith.

"What is it?", asked Krolia curiously.

"It's about your strange behavior", guessed Kolivan with a frown.

"The strange... tension between her and the Red Paladin?", inquired Lotor curiously. "He's a suspicious one. Keeps glaring at me too."

Keith glared at them both, waiting for his mother to get up so they could talk _in private_. It took Krolia a moment to nod and follow him out. Keith kept shifting.

"It... _is_ about Lance", admitted Keith. "I just... I wanted to make sure you didn't take it the wrong way. Lance is... an important member of Voltron. And he's a good... friend. I don't know what to do if my mother and my... friends... can't get along."

"Keith", interrupted Krolia gently, eyes sad and soft as she looked at him. "He's right."

"W—What?", asked Keith surprised, taking a step back.

"Neither you nor your friends have any solid reason to trust me", stated Krolia. "I... I left you. I left you when you were a defenseless baby. I left you to fight in a war, but I still left you. And you don't have a reason to believe me that I won't just abandon you again. You don't, because you don't know me. And... And _that_ is my fault. It's my fault you don't know me and have no reason to trust me."

"I do!", exclaimed Keith, looking desperate. "I trust you!"

"I know", whispered Krolia with a small smile, pulling Keith into a tight hug. "And that's why I think it's good that you have friends as loyal as him, who would stay suspicious to keep you safe. I'm glad you found this family of yours, Keith. Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, Lance, they care about you. Shiro, you told me _so many stories_ about him and what he had done for you. I'm glad that... while I was gone, you found a family who loves you and I have no right to expect to be accepted into this family, but I can only _hope_ to earn myself your respect and trust – not just yours, but theirs too. So do not worry about it, Keith. I took Lance's words for what they were. A warning to a stranger, to protect a cherished pack-mate from possible harm."

Keith nodded numbly, clinging onto his mother, glad she understood. "He... He's great."

"He is", agreed Krolia with a pleased smile.

He was great. Lance. Fierce, protective, a strong fighter considering that he was a paladin of Voltron and he was also quite beautiful. All the qualities of a worthy mate. Krolia's smile grew.

/break\

"What is your interest in Lance?"

A bit startled, Krolia turned around to face the disapproving face of the princess. "I beg your pardon, Princess Allura? I'm merely observing my son's training."

She stood at the window overseeing the training room. Keith was down there, with Lance. Both were fighting with swords. Apparently, or so Krolia had overheard earlier, that was a new development. Lance used to fight with a gun. Primitive weapon, really. But now his bayard had changed into a sword. The worthy weapon of a great warrior. And Keith, being the experienced swordsman here, had offered to teach Lance. As a good mate should, being willing to share his knowledge and make sure his mate would be best prepared to fight off attackers.

"You've been at the castle for two days now and when your focus is not on Keith, it's on Lance", stated Allura, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. "What is it that interests you about him?"

"He used to pilot the Blue Lion, yes?", asked Krolia instead, turning back to watch the boys. "But then Keith became the leader and his lion, his lion accepted _no one_ but Lance, yes?"

"Well... yes", nodded Allura a bit confused.

"A wise lion", nodded Krolia pleased before leaving the observation deck.

Allura frowned as she watched the Galra go. What was _going on_? Lotor had already told her that 'something' seemed to be going on between Krolia and Lance and Allura wasn't sure she liked it.

/break\

"Krolia", grunted Kolivan irritated during dinner the next day. "Stop tricking the boy into courting."

"I'm not-", started Krolia defensively, pouting as Kolivan gave her a pointed glare.

"You have made Keith bring Lance his food for days now. You made sure Keith was to spar with him in particular – claiming it's the blade that made it more handy for them to train together. You want Keith to prove himself to Lance, by Galra courting traditions", stated Kolivan.

Krolia's pout intensified. "The boy is _worthy_. More than that. He loves Keith dearly, quite obviously. Keith just doesn't seem to _notice_ and it's frustrating. I want..."

Kolivan sighed and rested a heavy hand on her shoulder, making her look up. "You want to make up for all the years you missed and you think that by meddling, by playing an important part in this important phase of his life, you can make up for it. Believe me, Keith _knows_ that Lance is a worthy mate. He talks about the boy _all the time_. When the paladins, without Keith, were out there, touring the galaxy and having their little shows, Keith embarrassingly enough nearly fainted as he watched the show where Lance was dancing. It was very pathetic to witness."

Krolia giggled at that, saddened that it was again something she had missed. "I just... I want to be _there_ when he finds his mate. I don't... I don't want to be gone and on a mission and miss it. I..."

"That's _it_!"

Krolia and Kolivan jumped and turned around to face Allura, Pidge and Hunk. The two humans stumbled a little, while Allura stared wide-eyed at Krolia. Yes, Krolia wished to keep Pidge and Hunk too. They were very precious and darling as they laid on the ground giggling.

"You wanna match-make Klance", laughed Pidge.

"Oh boy, and here I had feared you didn't like Lance", laughed Hunk relieved.

"What is a... Klance?", asked Krolia confused.

Pidge sat up cross-legged and pushed her glasses up before motioning at herself and then Hunk. "We're Team Punk. We're the tech-nerds. And while we did stuff alone, Keith and Lance did too. So Hunk and I dubbed them Team Klance. But we've had a hunch that they could be _more_ than just a team for a while now. All that passive-aggressiveness in the beginning? Totally UST."

"What's UST?", asked Allura this time, looking at Pidge.

"N—Nothing, princess, nothing!", assured Hunk, covering Pidge's mouth with a hand.

Allura and Krolia turned to look at each other in confusion before shrugging. Something told Krolia that now that the princess knew Krolia had no intentions of harming Lance, she would be more welcomed. And the gleam in Pidge's eyes told her that she definitely had a willing accomplice.

"I will not participate in this", declared Kolivan and shook his head. "It is wildly inappropriate to meddle, for it's Keith's decision when to court his mate."

"Well, Keith is too stupid for that", huffed Pidge, before turning to Krolia. "No offense."

"None taken. He does... Well, he never learned how to", sighed Krolia solemnly. "And that's my fault. I wasn't there to teach him how to court your mate. So I _will_ help him."

"And _we_ will help you", declared Pidge mischievously. "Right?"

"Well, I suppose...", drawled Allura with just an edge of mischief.

"Obviously! There's been so much pining while we were still at the Garrison!", agreed Hunk.

"Let's start mission Klance", declared Krolia with a smirk.

/break\

Lance frowned confused as he turned the dagger around in his hand. Keith had given him this earlier. Keith had... been behaving weird the past few days. There had been other gifts too. Weirdly enough. Keith had given Lance a couple small trinkets, stuff Keith had seen during his missions with the Blade that had made him think of Lance. But now a dagger, nearly identical to Keith's.

"What's on your mind, my boy?", asked Coran curiously.

They were in the kitchen together, Lance sitting on the counter while Coran was preparing dinner. Hunk wanted to help, but he had been roped into training by Shiro. Shiro had been a real hard-ass lately. Well, he had been weird too lately, but... more unsettling weird than Keith.

"The blade", offered Lance. "I mean, Keith gave it to me... He's been... giving me a lot. Like. Stuff he bought or found during missions. Even food from other planets. He keeps giving me more. And at first I thought it was nice and all, but now there's _still_ more coming. Like... he was embarrassed that he got me so much stuff so he's giving it to me in phases? But... why?"

"Ah. Very curious", nodded Coran, frowning.

He had taken to engaging in conversation with Lance more often after he saw the boy's need to share while Hunk and Pidge had been working. He knew that Lance used to go to Keith when Hunk and Pidge were busy with a project. With Keith now having joined the Blade, there seemed to be a gap, one Lance wasn't sure how to fill just yet. And Coran felt like he might be able to help. There was not much he could do for the paladins, he was not a fighter, but he could offer moral support.

"Oh for the love of...", sighed Lotor and shook his head. "He is _courting you_."

Lance startled and turned toward the Galra prince. He hadn't even noticed that Lotor was _there_ , he had been so busy staring at the blade and thinking about Keith. Glaring at Lotor, Lance put the blade away and jumped off the counter. Wait, was Lotor _helping with dinner_? Okay, this was really ridiculous. All of it. Lotor being part of the team still needed some getting used to.

"Wait, what?", asked Lance confused.

"He's half-Galra, right? He's courting you, by Galra instincts", shrugged Lotor.

"Why, of course. That makes perfect sense", drawled Coran surprised, twirling his mustache.

"Literally none of that made sense!", exclaimed Lance, staring wide-eyed.

"Galra, when they chose a mate, court them", explained Lotor very slowly, leveling Lance with a glare. "With food and tokens of our appreciation. To show our future mate we will be able to provide for them and that we cherish them."

"...Right. Yeah, no, that's not it", nodded Lance and blinked slowly.

Lotor looked very unimpressed by the level of denial Lance was displaying, though he decided to return to his task at hand. With most of the paladins, he still had to earn their trust. Lance ranking very high up there. By now, he had figured out why. Because Allura had trusted him first and now they were rather close. Lance was the heart of the team, the one who wanted to protect them. Who kept being suspicious when his team-mates lowered their guard. Like Allura with Lotor. Like Keith with Krolia. As long as they had not fully earned the trust placed in them, Lance would stay suspicious of them, on behalf of his team-mates. And Lotor could respect that, in a way.

/break\

Frowning to himself, Lance was curled together on top of Red's head. The lion was purring softly in the back of Lance's mind. Lance missed Blue. He missed her very dearly. They had been the first ones to make a connection with each other. And part of Lance still didn't understand why Red had decided to trust _him_ instead of Allura. Quite clearly, Allura was more fit to be the second-in-command to the leader – she had been that from the start, even without a lion. She and Shiro used to lead this team. Then things got whacky and now, well, now something was _wrong_ with Shiro and Lance wasn't sure what it was, but Lance was _suspicious_. And as long as he would be the Red Paladin, he was going to do his best to be a worthy second-in-command. Whatever that meant.

"Hey, Red. You keeping Lance safe while I'm away, right girl?"

Lance froze and turned to look down the lion's head to see Keith standing next to her paw, resting a hand on top of it. Keith was looking at the lion, apparently not having noticed Lance yet.

"You promised you would", whispered Keith with a smile. "And I trust you to keep doing it."

Lance blushed surprised, eyes wide. Before he had a chance to make himself known, the door to the hangar opened again and Krolia entered. She gasped softly as she took in the mighty lions, seemingly impressed. When she spotted her son, she walked up to him.

"Mother?", asked Keith curiously. "What is it?"

"We've been here for nearly a week now and Kolivan and I think that we should leave soon", stated Krolia. "I know... you don't want to leave your friends, but... We have duties."

"I know", nodded Keith, looking at the floor. "It just... reminds me of all the things I miss..."

"Like... Lance?", offered Krolia with a knowing smile, watching her son blush. "You like him a lot. And I can see that. You chose wisely, you know, Keith."

"I... What?", asked Keith unsure, looking at his mother.

"He cares very fiercely, he's a strong warrior and he is beautiful", listed Krolia. "He is a worthy match for you, Keith. And you _have_ been courting him since we arrived. It's... instinctual, once we pick a worthy mate. You've been buying all those little things that reminded you of him while you were apart, to give to him, to show him you think of him even when you two aren't together. You've been bringing him food. Oh, I did that for your dad! He was _so confused_ the first time I brought him a bear. Admittedly, I did not know that bears are not considered food. How should I know? Humans are horribly picky as to what animals they will and won't eat, really... The point is, he's human and doesn't understand that. And you were... I wasn't there to raise you and teach you those things. But I really needed to tell you this before we leave, because you need to talk to him."

"But... mom... He's... He's always only flirting with _girls_ ", grumbled Keith stubbornly.

"Well, because he never met a male worthy enough to be his mate, none living up to you", assured Krolia with a smile. "And Keith... You need to keep in mind the lives you both live. He is a paladin of Voltron, you are a member of the Blade of Mamora. Both of you go on nearly daily missions that could end deadly. Do not part ways with him without telling him. You... You never know when you will next see him again, or _if_ you will ever... see him again. Believe me, things left unsaid when you part ways, that is... the worst. I spent so many years _regretting_. Regretting the way I parted from your father, regretted the things I never got to tell you. I love you, son, and I never want for you to make the same mistakes as me. Don't leave the one you love without making sure he knows."

Keith averted his eyes, eyebrows knitted. "...You're... right, mother. I... I should find Lance and talk to him before we go. Even if he doesn't feel the same way about me. He should know."

"I'll leave you to it then", smiled Krolia, pressing a kiss against Keith's forehead.

While watching his mother leave, Keith sighed and sat down on the Red Lion's paw. Lance was still staring wide-eyed down. But Red was having non of that. She lowered her head and tilted it, causing Lance to fall off with a yelp and land right in Keith's lap. Violet eyes blinked down at him.

"L—Lance...?", asked Keith. "H—How long have you been... up there... what... what..."

"What did I hear? Uhm. Kind of... everything?", offered Lance sheepishly.

"Great", muttered Keith frustrated, cheeks turning red as the lion they sat on.

Lance closed his eyes and leaned up, pecking Keith's lips. When he opened them again and looked at Keith, both were only millimeters apart from each other and both were flushed brightly. Keith started with wide eyes, first into Lance's eyes and then down at his mouth. Without thinking too hard on it, he leaned down to steal a kiss of his own. He wrapped his arms around Lance's waist.

"So... does that make us boyfriends then?", asked Lance, biting his lower lip. "I mean, you courting me and liking me and all... And me... liking you... back...?"

"Y—Yeah", confirmed Keith with a small smile. "Yeah. Boyfriends. Sounds... perfect."

They didn't notice their audience in the observation deck, high-fiving left and right.

 _~*~ The End ~*~_

* * *

 _Author's note: This was born from how willingly the entire fandom seems to have accepted Krolia as being a good mom and all. Like. I WANT that to be true, but so far I got no reason to believe her or trust her. Pretty words are pretty words. I need that to be explored more thoroughly next season, give us her actually earning the trust. And since Lance is displaying a pattern of being suspicious whenever something could be a threat for the team - being the first to notice Shiro is off and being the only one still suspicious of Lotor - this just screamed Klance fic. Not to mention the part where last season heavily hinted on Lance having daddy issues, so I totally had to get my new, shiny headcanon out there~  
_


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